Don’t die sitting in the wrong church. You heard me right.  You can die in the wrong church.  You can die spiritually, financially, emotionally and physically from a lack of sound Bible teaching.

Church Pulpit with Stained Glass

For this reason, finding a great church is critical. Your church affects everything in your life and especially where you and your family spend eternity.  Additionally, you will not experience the good life God desires for you in the wrong church because you will not learn how to take it by faith.

Don’t be like so many people who connect to churches based on denomination, location, size, race, status, choir, building, family, and so on.  None of these reasons justifies connecting with a church.

The most effective way to find a great church is to find a great senior pastor.  The church rises or falls on his or her leadership.  To help your search, here are five questions to ask about the senior pastor before connecting with a church.

Is The Pastor A Godly Leader?

Pay very close attention to the pastor’s personal commitment to godliness, holiness and integrity.  No one is perfect, but he should attempt to reach the standards set out in 1 Timothy 3:1-13.  The three areas that cause most pastors to stumble are sex, money and pride.  Watch these areas diligently.

Does the Pastor Teach the Bible?

The very next question is whether he or she’s an excellent Bible teacher.  You should avoid pastors who hoop, hack, tune up, and display wild emotionalism instead of teaching the Bible.  Similarly, avoid pastors who teach traditions and religion instead of the Bible.

Make sure s/he teaches affirmatively on certain Bible subjects such as the new birth, sanctification, the Kingdom of God, prosperity, the Blessing of the Lord, the authority of the believer, love, grace, healing, success, favor, redemption, and other subjects about the goodness of God.

Does the Pastor Have A Spirit of Faith?

Faith is so critical in our daily lives that you should make sure the pastor teaches the subject of faith often and lives by it.  Here’s why?

You cannot please God nor receive anything from Him without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Four times the Scripture says we must live and walk by faith (Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38).  From Genesis to Revelation faith is prominent.  Without faith, it’s tough living in victory over sickness, poverty, fear, depression and other evil things.  You want a pastor, therefore, who teaches faith so your faith can increase.

Is The Pastor Spirit-Filled and Spirit-Led?

Since Christ left the church in the care of the Holy Spirit, you want a pastor who’s Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.  One who understands and operates in the gifts of the Spirit.  One who prays and seeks the guidance of the Holy Spirit daily.  He cannot function properly as a pastor nor develop a spiritually healthy church if he neglects the Holy Spirit.

Does The Pastor Have a Kingdom Agenda?

A pastor with a Kingdom agenda is committed to advancing, preaching and demonstrating the Kingdom of God.  He has a strong desire to see his church present in the community meeting needs.  He encourages them to engage in marketplace ministry because he understands his congregation cannot advance the Kingdom of God within the four corners of the church.  He has a heart for the lost and youth as Christ did when he walked the earth.

Conclusions

With these tips, you can feel good about your current church, or begin the process of finding another.  If you need to find another church, don’t let loyalty to anything or anyone hinder your move.  Pray and ask God to lead you to a great church that has a great pastor with the above characteristics.  As I said above, your eternal life and that of your family are at stake.